I just realized it?s been 10 years since I posted any images of my 4 string companion, so hey, why not post some new images to show how the wood looks after all these years and share a couple stories.
My bass currently has 2 fatboy pickups, 3 position Q switches, and I?ve been using DR Sunbeams for the past few years, which balance so well sonically with all that dense maple and purpleheart. I?m really glad I went full on purpleheart back then, because I was originally just going to go with a mahogany body to save a little weight and cash. But after a couple weeks of placing my order I was sitting at work, and I was like ?What am I doing? I want the purpleheart in the neck and top for its looks and tonal properties, so why didn?t I just spend a few hundred more and go all the way?? So I call up Alembic, Valentino answers, and I say, ?Valentino, I made a mistake. Is it too late to fix it?? We talk for a few minutes, and he tells me to hold on a sec, and after a couple minutes he comes back from the factory and says, ?Well, your bass is actually being clamped and glued right now, but if you really want to, we?re willing to start another if you?re willing to pay the purpleheart body upgrade cost plus $50 for the blank that we?re going to lose.? So I immediately said without any hesitation, ?yes?, and it was the best musical decision I?ve ever made. Every time I open that case and pick it up, I?m so glad I chose Alembic and went crazy with the purpleheart.
And here?s another story that always makes me smile. A couple years back, I ordered the second fatboy pickup, and somehow I ended up with one of the black engraved ?Alembic? casings instead of the gold script. I tried it out for a day or so, and then I was like, ?eh, I really wish I had matching gold script?, thinking they changed the design over the years or something. So I emailed Mica, and asked if it would be any trouble if I could get a gold script pickup. She replied back, and was like, ?How did you get that one? We don?t usually ever send those out?? So she sends out a new one, and tells me to send the other back whenever I get the replacement installed, and they?ll pay me for the shipping. A few days later, I get the replacement pickup, and a handwritten note that says, ?Hi Phil, Enclosed please find replacement pickup and $5.00 for returning the wrong pickup back. Best Regards, Mica?. I just sat there smiling for about ten minutes, and I thought ?Man, what an awesome personal touch. What other company in this day and age still does things like that?? I?ve still got the note and the 5 singles in my case.
On that note, enjoy the photos, which I will be posting right after this. It?s always hard for me to get an accurate representation of the wood because it looks totally different with indoor and outdoor lighting. It seems to be magenta skewed in natural light, and more plum indoors so I tried to do a range.
